Kansas' 59-10 loss at West Virginia ends 1-11 season

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Kansas hadn’t even put the finishing touches on its worst season in nearly a quarter century, and coach Charlie Weis already was working on the future.

During the second half of the 59-10 spanking the Jayhawks absorbed Saturday at the hands of Geno Smith and West Virginia, Weis was busy bending the ears of Ben Heeney, James Sims, Tony Pierson and just about any other underclassman he could find. The message was simple: The time to get better starts immediately.

Weis and KU traveled to these hills of West Virginia only to reach a new low. Saturday’s drubbing at Milan Puskar Stadium not only was the Jayhawks’ worst of the season — eclipsing their 52-7 loss at Oklahoma — it also capped a 1-11 season that is the school’s worst since the Jayhawks went 1-10 in 1988.

Needless to say, that isn’t the kind of first impression Weis envisioned when he took over the faltering program a year ago.

"I am fully aware of our deficiencies," Weis said. "I’m fully aware what they are. In about five seconds we’re going to be out recruiting so we can try to plug some of these holes and not have as many deficiencies, because you so a gross mismatch out there."

Sure did. Smith completed 23 of 24 passes for 407 yards and three touchdowns as the Mountaineers (7-5, 4-5 Big 12) racked up 647 total yards against KU’s helpless defense. West Virginia’s career passing leader set a school record by completing 21 consecutive passes after his lone blemish of the day, a first-quarter attempt over the middle that was intercepted by KU cornerback Tyler Patmon.

"The way I look at it, he completed every pass today — one to us and 23 to them," Weis said. "He was 24 for 24 for 407 yards. I mean, give me a break; it doesn’t get much better than that."

Smith had plenty of help, too. Tavon Austin had 110 receiving yards and 77 rushing yards; Stedman Bailey caught 11 of Smith’s tosses for 159 yards and two touchdowns; and Andrew Buie ran for 100 yards and one score on 12 carries.

The Mountaineers matched their season high for points in a half by jumping out to a 35-7 lead at intermission, and the second half only got worse as WVU scored on four straight possessions to send Smith and his senior teammates out in fine fashion.

By game’s end, Austin and Bailey had put on such a dizzying display that some were wondering if they belonged in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

"Are they capable of it? Yes," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. "Is Geno as good of a quarterback (as there is) out there? Absolutely. Is Tavon as dynamic of a player (as there is) out there in college football? Yes, he is. Is Stedman as dynamic of a wide receiver as anybody out there? Absolutely."

Holgorsen certainly won’t get an argument from Weis, especially as it concerns Austin and Bailey.

"I grabbed them both and said, ‘You both have a chance of being special players, but don’t rest on your laurels, and push yourself because you have a chance to play this game for a long time,’" Weis said. "And I did tell them, ‘You’re a pain in the butt.’"

Even more painful for the Jayhawks, however, is that they now must wait through an entire offseason for the opportunity to end a number of losing streaks. KU not only dropped its 11th straight Saturday, it also lost its 21st consecutive game in the Big 12 and 21st in a row against FBS competition.

"It may not seem like it because we’re not winning any conference games, but we as a team felt like we got one hundred times better as far as conference games and just not giving up," said Sims, who provided a rare bright spot by rushing for 57 yards to finish the season with 1,013.

"We still had fight. We’ve just got to come together and work on our weaknesses. It’s not going to come overnight. We’ve just got to put in the work."

Weis tried to reverse KU’s sagging fortunes Saturday by re-inserting Dayne Crist as the Jayhawks’ starting quarterback, but Crist proved no more effective than he was at the start of the season. The senior transfer was just 1-for-5 passing and threw a costly interception after KU reached the red zone on its second possession.

Michael Cummings replaced Crist on the Jayhawks’ third possession, but nothing really helped as the Jayhawks managed only 274 yards against a WVU defense that ranked ninth in the Big 12, giving up 487 yards on average.

"They played tough on defense and they were dynamic on offense, just the way I expected them to be," Weis said.

And with that, Weis turned his attention back to the future.

"When you get to the point where you get them to start fighting, that’s a good thing," he said. "But fighting and winning are two totally different things. So we have a lot of ground to make up here.

Advertising

Stay Connected

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Topeka Capital-Journal ~ 616 SE Jefferson, Topeka, KS 66607 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service